Wisconsin Chapter National Railway Historical Society

Volume 68 Number 2 February 2018 Sparks and Cinders Our purpose as members of Wisconsin Chapter—National Railway Historical Society is to gather, preserve and disseminate information, both historic and current, pertaining to railroading in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. Visit the Chapter Webpage www.nrhswis.org

In a scene unable to be repeated. #511 leads a northbound Hiawatha train at the old Sturtevant Depot. The new Sturtevant Depot is a couple miles up the track now off Highway 20. This depot has been preserved in a park in Caledonia. Photo by Al Baker In This Issue • From the President • Riding the Rails with the Borleskes • Interesting Railfan Day in Southeast Wisconsin

1 Upcoming Events February 2018 Midwest Railroads in 1989 and 2001 with Al Baker TMER&THS (Traction and Bus Club) Al Baker remarks: "February 2018 marks my return to the www.tmer.org Wisconsin Chapter presentation roster. I lived in Danbury, CT Saturday February 17, 2018 2005-2016 and last presented to the Chapter prior to 2005. For NEW LOCATION - Waterstone Bank February, I’ll use a program I presented at the Danbury Rail- 6560 S 27th Street way Museum (they hold weekly slide shows) about Midwest “Here Comes Our Bus” by Milw County Transit System railroading in the years 1989 and 2001, focusing primarily on the Milwaukee and Wisconsin areas. NMRA WISE Division Monthly Meet Saturday February 17, 2018 8am to 4pm I have been shooting slides with my brother, Bob, since the Bus Trip to Mad City Train Show early 1970’s. I converted to digital photography in 2007. I look Alliant Energy Center, Madison WI forward to sharing this work with the Wisconsin Chapter at Check out www.wisedivision.org for information and cost future meetings." Mad City Train Show - Madison WI Saturday Feb 17 and Sunday Feb 18 Meetings are held at the North Shore Congregational Church at Alliant Energy Center 7330 N Santa Monica Blvd in Fox Point in the lower level. The meeting room at the North Shore Congregation Church is NRHS National Convention handicap accessible. www.nrhs.com August 7-12. 2018 Please watch the Chapter webpage www.nrhswi.org for Cumberland, MD any weather cancellations Historical Association www.mrha.com National Convention Watch the webpage for information Wisconsin Chapter Meeting Schedule C&NW Historical Society www.cnwhs..org National Convention May 17-20, 2018 Friday February 2, 2018 Al Baker Rapid City, South Dakota Friday March 2, 2018 To Be Announced Friday April 6, 2018 Rob McGonigal Soo Line Historical and Technical Society www.sooline.org MEETINGS NOW START AT 7:30PM !!! Watch for upcoming events Programs Subject to Change If you would like to present a program Green Bay & Western Historical Society at a Chapter Meeting Annual Meeting Banquet Contact Dave Nelson at email [email protected] Saturday April 28, 2018 Best Western Green Bay Inn 780 Armed Forces Dr Green Bay, WI Same Saturday as Titletown Train Show January 2018 Meeting Summary There were 29 people in attendance at 7:31 pm, when Dave Thank You to all those that contributed to this issue of Nelson began explaining the rules for the annual formal business Sparks and Cinders. Member contributions make this newslet- meeting. The minutes of that meeting are presented separately ter YOUR newsletter. - Sparks and Cinders Editor from the discussions and announcements here. The formal busi- ness meeting began at 7:33 pm, and adjourned at 7:40 pm. Wisconsin Chapter Now on Facebook !! Dave Nelson offered to turn the meeting over to newly elected Thanks to Keith Schmidt the Chapter now has a Facebook President Bob Baker. Bob declined the offer. Dave Nelson con- Page. It Can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/pages/ tinued to lead this month’s meeting. Wisconsin-Chapter-NRHS/170129169765334 (Must enter the Treasurer Tom Hoffmann reported holiday contributions of number string) $200.00 to North Shore Congregational Church and $50.00 to Sparks and Cinders is published their custodian, with our appreciation for the continued use of the by the Wisconsin Chapter, building. Tom is working through a large number of 2018 dues National Railway Historical payments. A complete financial report will be made available Society. President: Dave Nelson once that work is completed. 1506 E Fox Lane Fox Point, WI Tom Hoffmann presented an important correction to page 7 of 53217. Send all address changes the January 2018 edition of Sparks & Cinders. The Great Tri- and dues to the treasurer, Tom State Rail Show & Sale, in La Crosse, will be held on Saturday, Hoffmann, 1102 Aspen Dr., January 27 (NOT on January 18—as shown in S&C. January 18 Waukesha, WI 53188. Send all is a Thursday.). material for publication to the inter- The 2018 annual banquet will not be a Pallas Restaurant. New ownership has taken over. They are no longer accepting banquet im editor, Keith Schmidt 3286 S 2 Springfield Ave Milw, WI 53207 reservations for less than 75 people. They are looking for wed- or at [email protected] dings on Saturday nights. Our typical attendance has been in the - continued from Page 2 30’s. We are looking for another site, on the same proposed And to all who sit as board of directors, please keep doing it! date of Saturday, May 5. Several suggestions were offered. Finally congratulate Greg Mross as he exits the board and wel- The leadership is keeping our options open for now. come my brother Al Baker as he joins. Long-term member and past presenter Ed Wilkommen So what can we do as a group in the upcoming year? I would passed away recently. His obituary is in the Milwaukee Jour- like your input and welcome your support. Please email me nal Sentinel. what is on your mind, on any subject. My email address is: Dave Nelson reported that NRHS National processed his [email protected]. credit card payment for 2018 renewal. He has not yet received As I look forward to the upcoming year I see preserving our his new membership card. The new membership renewal sys- membership and yes growing its total numbers. Unfortunately tem is working, albeit slowly. the deck is stacked against us. I myself, at age 65, represent the Some railfans were on board, and among the casualties, graying of the baby boomers. And I think our combined dues when the first run of the Amtrak Cascades over its new routing (both local and national) are far too high for what we get in re- south of Seattle, Washington, derailed in December. The turn. The younger generations aren’t into history and what they trains was a Talgo set manufactured in 1996. They were not are interested in, they get instantly off the internet, for free. then producing trains in Milwaukee. The cause remains under And so it goes. investigation. It appears to be have been excessive speed on a Let’s see if we can get more people to our meetings and into curve. That is not attributable to the manufacturer. our organization. Then show them a good time. I look forward Dave Nelson asked if there were any first-time attendees or to hearing from you. guests present. There were three. John Schreiber and his 13- year-old son Charlie from Bayside became subscribers. Jeff Bob Baker Marker had met them at the railfan park in Rochelle, . Dennis Schmidt found out about us at Train Fest in November. Jeff Marker announced that the TMER&T Historical Socie- The minutes of the business meeting portion of the evening will ty will present a program on the North Shore Line, on the 55th be published in a later issue of Sparks and Cinders due to the anniversary of its abandonment, at Waterstone Bank, 6560 length of the minutes and summary. Editor S&C South 27th Street (south of College Avenue, on the east side of 27th Street), in Oak Creek, on Saturday, January 20. It will 1989 and 2001 in Wisconsin - Railroads That Is begin at 2:30 pm, and run for about 2 hours. Jerry Krug reported that the last two C&NW-painted units Come and join Al Baker as he shares photos from Wisconsin had been repainted into Union Pacific colors, due to the wors- and Milwaukee area from 1989 and 2001. Below is a sample of ening condition of their 22-plus year old paint, and the desire what will be seen on Friday February 2nd. Photos by Al Baker for a unified corporate image. The announcements and discussion above ended at 7:52 pm. Bob Baker introduced our presenter Jerry Krug. Jerry is a native of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. He graduated from UW- Madison, and is Certified Public Accountant. He is a past president of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, and assembled the 2018 C&NW HS calendar. Jerry is also a member of the NRHS Wisconsin Chapter. Jerry provided each of us with two pages of Santa Fe maps to go with his presentation. He took us on an extensive slide tour of the pre-1995 pre-merger Santa Fe, with some historical images going back to the 1950’s, from Dearborn Station in Chicago to the Pacific Coast in California. The presentation ended at 9:02 pm. Respectfully Submitted Thomas W. Marcussen Above - Southbound at Sturtevant, WI Below - Southbound on Byron Hill from Hwy F Overpass From the President It is only January 8th, and I am already tired of the cold weather. Nonetheless, spring is coming (eventually); and it is my pleasure to serve you as the new president of the Wisconsin Chapter NRHS. Let me use this forum to thank Dave Nelson for his outstand- ing years of service to the NRHS. As president, Dave’s service and commitment to excellence will be hard to replace. Thanks again Dave. Our organization is also blessed to have some gracious vol- unteers: Keith Schmidt- Vice President and Editor of S&C Tom Hoffmann- Treasurer Tom Marcussen- Secretary 3 Riding the Rails with the Borleske’s - Part 2 Story and Photos by Stephen Borleske Saturday September 23 we departed San Mateo for a trip out to Jamestown and the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. The state museum in Jamestown uses the former Sierra Rail- way shops area as the main portion of the museum. The tour- ist trains are currently being pulled by the Sierra #3 a 4-6-0 built in 1891 by Rogers. When we returned back to Jame- stown a Sierra Northern freight with an ex-ATSF Geep and a Genset were ready to head out over the trackage we had just ridden. After joining the roundhouse tour and chasing the last excursion train of the day back into town, we followed Cali- fornia Hwy. 49 (named for the gold rush of 1849) north on our way to the Sacramento suburb of Folsom. In Folsom an SP depot, a caboose, and a heavyweight coach painted in SP Day- light colors are part of the Pioneer Village. Sunday September 24 we were chasing the Napa Valley Railroad. (The Napa Valley was also affected by the wildfires sun. The final departure of the day was the 10 car train on a din- this past fall.) They ran four trains the day we were there. The ner trip to St. Helena. first train was powered by a 44-Tonner and had a heavyweight The next three days were spent along the former Western Pa- cific. Our luck in finding trains operating in the Feather River

coach for the passengers. The second train was led by a re- cently purchased ex-NS high-nose GP38 also using a heavy- Canyon was dampened by a maintenance project most of the weight coach for the passengers. These two trains stopped at days. We were able to catch a few BNSF Inside Gateway trains sidings along the route that were near vineyards where passen- and UP trains on the former WP main line. As with photo loca-

gers had the opportunity to visit several wineries. The third tions here in Wisconsin several photo locations along the ex-WP departure was led by RS11 #62 (ex-SP). The 10 car train have succumbed to trees and are no longer worth while. The made the 36 mile round trip to St. Helena in three hours. On famous Williams Loop, which is located adjacent to California the return trip FPA4 # 72 (ex-CN/VIA) led the train into the 4 Highway 70, is one such location. In Portola we visited the Museum. This museum has the larg- is ‘tapped’ at a station when getting on and ‘tapped’ when get- est collection of WP equipment, and is located at the former ting off and your fare is automatically deducted from your bal- WP shops along the active main line. A line of 26 SD60/ ance. Transfers between transit agencies are also convenient as DASH-8’s is currently stored in one of the yard tracks. Before service is very interconnected. When using SF Muni and plan- departing the ex-WP line we briefly made a stop at Quincy to ning multiple rides on the cable cars ($7/each ride) get a Muni check out the Quincy Railroad, owned by lumber manufacturer Visitor Pass available in 1, 3, or 7 consecutive day cards. Sierra Pacific.

In Memoriam - The Dynamic Duo

Our last couple of days we spent along the ex-SP Donner Pass main line, built by the Central Pacific as the western end of the Transcontinental Railroad. Our luck with traffic was also not as good as would be hoped. Heading west from Truckee we traveled on old US 40 up and over the pass. The original Central Pacific mainline at the top of the pass is close to the highway and has become an attraction for people to hike the right of way missing tracks but still owned by the railroad. We visited Roseville’s Davis Yard, the large manifest yard in central California, on the morning of our departure. The ser- vicing facility is along a road on the north/west side of the yard. Near the locomotive facility is the home of the snow fighting equipment. In one area is the flangers with their as- signed GP38-2’s. Deeper in the yard is the home of the rotary plows still painted in their SPMW black. Also noted in the yard is the last ex-DRGW F9B #5763 still on the roster being prepped for conversion to a rotary power car. On the east end of the yard is a replica depot built in 1994 using SP plans. Across the tracks on display is SP 2252 (4-6-0, Cooke 1897) and SPMW 9221 (Rotary). I dropped Dad off at the Sacra- mento depot where he got on Amtrak #6, the California Zeph- yr, which had Amtrak 822 (Phase III heritage paint) leading. On Dad’s return trip #6 detoured over Sherman Hill. Unfortu- nately I returned by airplane to Minneapolis. While Dad was heading over the Overland Route manline Photos by Dan Grudzielanek. Unfortunately CNW #8701 on October 1, I rode behind the Milwaukee Road 261 from and #8646 have been repainted into UP colors. So Long !! Minneapolis Jct. to Glencoe and return. The 261 put a good show on the trip west with a 13 car train. We stopped at Bongards for a runby. The weather was not the best that day Original 23rd Annual Model Railroad Show and during the runby it started a light rain. In returning to Presented by Metro Model Railroad Club Minneapolis Jct. we headed back onto the BNSF at Cedar Lake Jct., past Target Field where an extra Northstar train for the Sunday March 11, 2018 9am to 4pm Twins game was sitting, and onto the south leg of the wye at Circle B Recreation Center Harrison St. We waited for a few minutes before an inbound Cedarburg, WI Northstar train passed Harrison St. before pulling west again to shove onto the north leg of the wye. The 261 then pulled the Operating Model Railroad Layouts train into the siding off the main line. Swap Tables Transit in the San Francisco are is very easy to use. The easiest way to go from one transit agency to another in the area For more information check out is to use the Clipper Card. There is a nominal $3 fee to pur- 5 www.metrorrclub.org chase the card, and it is reloadable at many stations. The card [email protected] Recent Locomotive Sightings in Milwaukee By Dan Grudzielanek

On November 16, 2017 two different trains on two different railroads passed through the Milwaukee area that attracted the attention of local railfans. The first was Union Pacific train MBUPR that departed from Butler Yard with the UP's C&NW heritage unit leading the train and the SP heritage unit also in the locomotive consist. Both units are EMD SD70ACe locomotives that are part of the UP's fleet of heritage units. Each unit pays tribute to a different "fallen flag" railroad that is now part of the UP's network.

The UP 1996 wears colors inspired by the Southern Pacific's "Daylight" passenger trains. The SP was merged into the UP in 1996.

UP train MBUPR is lead by the C&NW heritage unit on the Milwaukee Subdivision at 20th Street in Milwaukee. UP SD70ACe No. 1995 honors the Chicago & North Western that was merged in the UP in 1995.

MBUPR stopped at Airport (College Ave.) to meet a north- bound train which provided the opportunity to get ahead of it again at Drexel Ave. in Oak Creek, Wis.

The second noteworthy train to pass through Milwaukee that day was the Canadian Pacific's business train powered by the railroad's fleet of F-units.

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February 1998 - 20 Years Ago From the Archives Three railroads, WC, UP, and BNSF, are asking a federal court to overturn the new Wisconsin law requiring two-person crews February 1958 - 60 Years Ago on all trains operating in the state....The old yard office at the Railroading at Christmas — Jim Scribbins, Milwaukee Road: UP Butler Yard will soon be history. Yard office operations Train 5, the Morning Hiawatha, carried three RPO working will move to the former division headquarters building....UP mail cars for the seasonal rush. Two sections of the Olympian has filed to abandon the last 1.4 miles of track into Waukesha. Hiawatha were operated from December 18 to January 6. February 2003 - 15 Years Ago Because of the City of Denver is now carrying a Super Dome, Several articles covered various aspects of the proposed the Minneapolis section of Train 16 and Train 5 used tap-cafe commuter rail line between Kenosha and Milwaukee....CN cars....C&NW still maintained its Christmas tradition of offered 30 jobs at its former IC Woodcrest Shop in Homewood, hanging a Christmas wreath in every window of the dining car Illinois, to mechanical department employees displaced by the and the parlor-observation car of the Twin Cities 400. closing of the Stevens Point and North Fond du Lac shops. The February 1963 - 55 Years Ago shop closing affected 54 employees....Amtrak President David Library donations are very warming this month. Dick Vogt has Gunn said Amtrak would require at least $10 billion in federal given the Chapter a copy of the 1947 “Locomotive Cyclopedia” subsidies over the next five years to keep its trains and for which we are grateful. An anonymous gentleman, again, a infrastructure intact good member, has donated “The ,” “The February 2008 - 10 Years Ago Road of the Century,” “Steelways of New England,” and two WSOR Revised Operations Plan included different abbrevia- railroad photo albums. Thank you, Mr. Anonymous! tions depending on where and when a train runs. Example HJ February 1968 - 50 Years Ago (Horicon-Janesville) JH (Janesville to Horicon), HM (Horicon The merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central received to Milwaukee) and HMR (Horicon to Milwaukee Relief). For final OK this month, over seven years after it was initiated. the 33rd Year Mid Continent Railway Museum is running a The giant system will operate over 5,000 diesel and electric Snow Train Feb 15-17, 2008. All the trains are diesel powered locos, roughly 20% of the entire U.S. total....In view of the due to the steam engines being out of service. Jim Wrinn Editor petition by the Milwaukee Road to discontinue the Copper of TRAINS magazine is scheduled to present at Feb 8th Country Limited, Jim Scribbins researched a five page chronolo- meeting of the Chapter. gy of all of the operational and equipment changes from the February 2013 - 5 Years Ago inauguration of service in September, 1895 through April, An organization is proposing to restore Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 1964....C&NW has ordered another 20 bi-level coaches for the No. 265 and build a roundhouse museum to house the locomo- expanding Chicago suburban traffic....The Milwaukee Road tive in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, once the home of the will operate a ski train to Iron Mountain on February 23. February 1973 - 45 Years Ago sprawling Milwaukee Shops. Nancy Ring, project manager for the Steam Marketing Group, said her for-profit organization is Jon Nondahl contributed a comprehensive summary of hoping to return No. 265, nicknamed “Old Smoky” to Milwau- Milwaukee Road motive power activity for 1972....Mike kee, where it was displayed from 1957 to 1975. It is now at the Iczkowski recounted a cab ride on the Southern Crescent. February 1978 - 40 Years Ago in Union, Ill., and was donated to the Over 450 freight cars are now parked at St. Ignace, Michigan, museum by the city of Milwaukee after road construction dis- waiting to be ferried to the Lower Peninsula. This massive tieup placed the locomotive. Ring said the group wants to restore No. 265 to operating condition to pull trips around the state of Wis- has been caused by the success of the Michigan Northern Railroad. The Michigan DOT is considering running the aging consin. In addition to returning No. 265 to the city, Ring said car ferry Chief Wawatam on a twice-a-day schedule rather than the group wants to build a Milwaukee Road history museum in its current once a week crossing....A recent blizzard tied up two Milwaukee. The museum would replicate one of the two round- houses that once stood in the Milwaukee Shops complex. The C&NW freights, one at West Bend in a drift up to its headlight and another at Friesland, on the Adams line, up to the handrails. history museum would be on a second floor of the roundhouse, A big V plow was dispatched from Butler to rescue the trains. with a walking tour telling the history of the Milwaukee Road The plow is mounted on a gondola full of rocks, followed by system. two gons of scrap iron pushed by an SD45 and an SD40. February 1983 - 35 Years Ago Mad City Model Railroad Show The Milwaukee Road North Milwaukee depot at Hampton Avenue was demolished recently....Richard B. Ogilvie, trustee Saturday February 17th 9am to 5pm of the Milwaukee Road is seeking court authority to settle all Sunday February 18th 9am to 4pm undisputed tax claims at 90% of the principal amount February 1988 - 30 Years Ago Held at the Alliant Energy Center President Dorothy Wiener proposed the establishment of a Madison, WI video library, to consist primarily of video transfers of railroad motion pictures shot over the years by railfans. Check out Operating Train Layouts in G, O, S, HO, N and Z February 1993 - 25 Years Ago Scale. Also buy trains from hobby shops and sellers. The acquisition of the GB&W and FRV by the WC has been put on hold for 30 days but a number of track rearrangements Hourly drawings for door prizes. in the Oshkosh area have already been made in anticipation of the take-over....The 1993 Snow Train is set to operate on Cost is $12.00 for Adults 12 and Over February 19, 20, and 21 at North Freedom. However, both of $11.00 for Seniors and Active Military the museum’s snow plows are in bad order so, if ex-C&NW $16.00 for a 2 Day Pass No. 1385 is unable to negotiate the line, a front end loader will $6.00 for Kids Age 5 to 11 Under 5 FREE be used to clear the track. 7 Check out www.nmra-scwd.org Sparks & Cinders 1102 Aspen Dr Waukesha, WI 53188

Sparks & Cinders is published by and for the members of the Wisconsin Chapter, Inc., National Railway Historical Society monthly except for July and August. The Chapter meets at the North Shore Congregational Church, 7330 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point, Wisconsin, on the first Friday of each month, except July and August, at 7:30 p.m. The Wisconsin Chapter, Inc., NRHS, is a not-for-profit corporation, affiliated with the National Railway Historical Society and the Wisconsin Historical Society, organized to preserve the history of railroading in Wisconsin and the surrounding area. The interim editor of Sparks & Cinders is Keith Schmidt. All material to be included in Sparks & Cinders should be sent to him via U.S. Mail to 3286 S. Springfield Ave Milwaukee, WI 53207 or by e-mail to: [email protected] by the 15th of the month preceding the month of publication. All address changes should be sent to the treasurer, Tom Hoffmann, 1102 Aspen Dr., Waukesha, WI 53188-2314. Membership in the Chapter is open to anyone having an interest in any aspect of railroading. A subscription to Sparks & Cinders is included in the annual dues of $65.00 per year which also includes membership in the national organization and a subscription to its publications, NRHS Bul- letin and NRHS News. Officers of the Wisconsin Chapter are: Presi- dent, B o b B a k e r ; Vice-President, Keith Schmidt ; Secretary, T o m M a rc u s s en , Treasurer, Tom Hoffmann; National Director Tom Hoff- For Meeting Updates and Weather Cancellations mann; Directors, Al Baker, Mike Yuhas, Ralph McClure, Andrew Roach, Neil please check the Chapter Webpage and Cathy Wegner and Dave Nelson. www.nrhswis.org All original material published in Sparks & Cinders may be reprinted in other railfan publications provided credit is given to:“Sparks & Cinders, Wisconsin Chapter, NRHS.” If an author is indicated for the item or article, credit must also be given to the author. The views, opin- ions, and comments published in Sparks &Cinders are those of the authors and editors and do not reflect the policies of the Wisconsin Chapter, Inc., NRHS, or of the National Railway Historical Society. Copyright ©2018, 8 Wisconsin Chapter, Inc., NRHS.